a439: Haiti could advance in soccer tournament (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: William Murray <wamurray@familink.com>

>From www.soccer365.com

HAITI UPSET ECUADOR
21/01/02
Haiti used an early own goal from Ecuador, an unrelentling counter-attack,
and the passion of its many flag-waving fans to shock special tournament
invite Ecuador 2-0 in the second day of FC Gold Cup 2002 action at the
Orange Bowl in Miami today.

"26 players and nine days together as a team, today we finally saw the
fruition," said Haiti head coach Jorge Castelli, whose team dropped their
opening game Friday 2-0 against Canada.

A pair of players wearing the number 19 on their jerseys accounted for the
scoring on the day. Ecuador's Edison Mendez inadvertently redirected a cross
into his own goal in the 7th minute, giving the Haiti team all the hope they
needed to maintain the lead and push for more goals.

A crucial second goal came in the closing seconds of the first half, as
Haiti Charles Alerte, Jr.'s scored on a header after Jean-Jacques Pierre's
header off a corner kick was redirected back across the mouth of the goal.

Haiti spent the second half staving off a determined Ecuador team that ended
up outshooting the opponent 8-6 and earning a whopping 11 corner kicks, but
could not break through.

"There are no surprises in football," said Ecuador head coach Hernan Gomez.
"We cannot look upon Haiti's victory as any less than what it was. They
played a tremendous game, and we're not playing well. It's as simple as
that--we are not playing well."

Ecuador, who finished second in a very difficult World Cup qualifying in
South America, is headed to its first World Cup when they compete at
Korea/Japan 2002 this summer. This is also the first Gold Cup appearance for
Ecuador, whose professional league is currently in the off-season.

"We have about seven or eight players that have not played for a long period
of time, and I think it was rather evident in certain reactions by certain
players," said Gomez. "The conclusion we can take away from this is that we
did not play well, we're not playing well and Haiti played a great match."

Ecuador will be looking to rebound and possible still slip into the
quarterfinals when they meet defending Gold Cup champion Canada on Tuesday
at 9 p.m.

Haiti sits in second place behind Canada on goal differential (+2 to their
even) with three points and could advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday
if Canada earns a win or tie. Haiti can also advance if Ecuador defeats
Canada by three goals or more.

"I would like to take it one step at a time," said Castelli, after an
overzealous Haitian journalist suggested that Haiti is well on its way to
being one of the top teams in the world. "Our first objective is to put
together a team that would qualify for Germany 2006. As far as Haiti being
one of the top teams in the world, let's take it one step at a time."


FC Gold Cup 2002 Game Report

Participants: Ecuador vs. Haiti
Competition: FC Gold Cup 2002 - First Round (Match 6)
Venue: Orange Bowl - Miami, Fla., USA
Date: January 20, 2002 - 5:05 p.m. (ET) kick-off
Attendance: 12,253
Weather: 70 degrees, cool

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
Ecuador 0 0 0
Haiti 2 0 2

Scoring:
HAI - (Own Goal) 7th minute.
HAI - Charles ALERTE, Jr. (Jean-Jacques PIERRE) 45.

Lineups:
ECU: 1-Jose CEVALLOS; 3-Ivan HURTADO, 5-Alfonso OBREGON (11-Nicolas ASENCIO,
57), 6-Raul GUERRON, 9-Carlos TENORIO, 10-Alex AGUINAGA (8-Luis
GOMEZ, 57), 13-Angel FERNANDEZ, 16-Cleber CHALA (7-Cristian LARA, 46),
17-Geovanny ESPINOZA, 19-Edison MENDEZ, 20-Edwin TENORIO.
Subs not used: 2-Augusto POROSO, 12-Johvani IBARRA, 15-Marlon AYOVI,
18-Carlos HIDALGO.

HAI: 1-Geteau FERDINAND; 3-Frantz GILLES, 5-Jean-Jacques PIERRE, 6-Gilbert
Jean-BAPTISTE, 10-Johnny DESCOLLINES (8-Renel MOMPREMIER, 84),
12-Golman PIERRE, 14-Wilfrid MONTILAS, 19-Charles ALERTE, Jr. (22-Ernst
ATIS, 71), 20-Roosevelt DESIR, 21-Pierre Roland SAINT-JEAN (17-David
SAINCUIS, 90), 31-Pierre Richard BRUNY.  Subs not used: 4-Jean-Muller
ALTIDOR, 9- Patrick TARDIEU, 15-Luckenson
CHERY, 29-Dieudonne MORENCY.

Statistical Summary: ECU     HAI
Shots                          8         6
Saves                         3          3
Corner Kicks              11         1
Fouls                          7        17
Offside                        1         0

Misconduct Summary:
ECU - Raul GUERRON (ejection) 31st minute.
HAI - Jean-Jacques PIERRE (caution) 39.
ECU - Alfonso OBREGON (caution) 45.
HAI - Frantz GILLES (ejection) 51.
HAI - Pierre Roland SAINT-JEAN (caution)54.
HAI - Charles ALERTE, Jr. (caution) 56.
ECU - Ivan HURTADO (caution) 70.
HAI - Johnny DESCOLLINES (caution) 83.

Referee: Carlos BATRES (GUA)
Assistant Referee: Vladimir FERNANDEZ (ELS)
Assistant Referee: Clemroy FRANCOIS (VIN)
4th Official: Gilberto ALCALA (MEX)